Friday

Feb 15, 2019 at 2:00 AMFeb 15, 2019 at 8:54 AM

Last month, staff and community leaders from various after-school providers, nonprofits, the Alachua County Public Schools and other organizations traveled to Orlando to visit two successful community partnership schools.

To create a community partnership school the required partners are the school district, a nonprofit, a health-care institution and a university. With the passing of the half-cent sales tax, our school district now has an opportunity to build community partnership schools in neighborhoods where students do not always have the support they need to succeed and thrive.

In addition, with the creation of the Children’s Trust of Alachua County, its board members have an opportunity to fund nonprofit programs that can provide a continuum of resources and services at the schools that the school district may not be able to fund.

In Orlando, the first school we visited was Evans High School. Evans was an “F” school that was setting up students for failure. When it became a community partnership school, four key partners joined together with a 25-year commitment to bring critical resources to the school to help each student achieve academic success.

The nonprofit serving as the collaborative lead at the school is Children's Home Society. It brings all the partners together on a regular basis to measure each student's academic success, as well as their needs.

They have hired a parent engagement coordinator who works closely with parents, most of whom are living in poverty and may have had limited academic success themselves. The goal is to ensure that families have the support they need so that they can be the best parents possible and support their child’s academic and life success.

Mental health counseling, food, clothing and other basic needs are addressed and met through community partnerships, so that students and families can access these resources on site at the school.

In addition, a variety of after-school programs and clubs are offered to students at the school. Transportation is provided, so parents and students don’t have to worry about how to get home after school. Those who stay for after-school programs also get snacks and have the option to have dinner at the school.

As we toured the high school, it was evident that the students and staff took pride in the culture that has been created to ensure that students and their families have the resources they need to be successful.

We also visited the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE). ACE is a K-8 school that also has a preschool on site. What made this school unique is that it was built as a community partnership school, where Evans High was a high school that added the partnership school components to the campus when they began their work to turn around the school.

The on-site preschool implements best practices in early childhood education to ensure that every young child is able to achieve success. In addition, a local philanthropist has offered a college scholarship to every child at the preschool who graduates high school.

Another one of the unique components at the school is a state-of-the art, on-site Boys and Girls Club. The Club includes a full-size gym, a kitchen, a music room and a technology center.

The other critical piece of this community partnership school is a brand new dental and medical clinic that is run by a local health provider. The clinic is not only available for the students, but the community at large.

Our trip to Orlando was exciting and eye-opening. Everyone returned to Gainesville excited to find ways to work together to create more community partnership schools in Alachua County, in addition to the program that exists at Howard Bishop Middle School.

However, we know that collaborative partnerships and long-term commitments to every student's academic success will be critical to making sure this model thrives in Alachua County. We are at a tipping point in our community and have a unique and exciting opportunity to change the trajectory for our students.

United Way of North Central Florida looks forward to partnering with the school district, nonprofits in the community, health-care institutions, business leaders and others to help create a pathway to academic success for every child in our community!

Creating more community partnership schools can be one of the many collaborative opportunities we create as we work together as a community to reduce racial inequities and improve school outcomes for every child in Alachua County.

Mona Gil de Gibaja is president and CEO of United Way of North Central Florida.

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